


Good People, Bad Things

by Real_Life_Eeyore



Series: The Howling Commandos and Captain America [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Battle of Azzano (Marvel), Sickfic, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 15:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19298926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Real_Life_Eeyore/pseuds/Real_Life_Eeyore
Summary: Barnes was a good person, and that was what would get him killed. Dugan absolutely hated it.The Howling Commandos before Captain America





	Good People, Bad Things

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, please be kind.

He hated the whole damn thing. The eerie blue light that emitted from the guns, the guns that vaporized his fellow soldiers right in front of his eyes, the rows of cages, the stupid guards, the way it was always cold. Most of all Dugan hated the way Barnes coughed and shivered through the night. 

By his count it’d been about three weeks since the battle went to shit and two since the kid started coughing. It wasn’t bad at first, practically unnoticeable but over the past week or so it's gotten worse. Dugan has been worried about Barnes since day one when he started mouthing off to one of the guards and earned himself a split lip and a bloody nose, Barnes was like the little brother he never had-something to be protected. It was only after a bout of coughing left him gasping for air out on the shop floor that Jones and just about all the other guys in their cell joined in his rather open concern.

Barnes was a good person. He told jokes when the mood got too serious and made sure all the new kids felt welcome. He was young and just cocky enough to be annoying but not enough to make him a complete jackass. 

“How you holding up Ace?” Jones asked casually. It was a hard day out on the floor, building god knows what.

“I’m fine” the he huffed, his eyes were closed and he’d pulled his knees up to his chin. Later when he’d fallen asleep Dugan stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around his shaking sargeant. There were beads of sweat on his face and his cheeks were flushed with fever.

“Kids getting worse” Jones muttered. Dugan nodded. “They’re taking the sick ones up to isolation. Don’t know what they’re doing but they never seem to last that long. They’re back every few days dragging another one off.” 

“I ain’t letting them take him” Dugan replied steadily, angrily. “He saved my ass half a dozen times on the battlefield, he’s not dying in some god damn factory. The next day Barnes shrugged at the water that was served in little tin cups. 

“Come on, you need some fuel to work off of”Jones coaxed, waving a piece of stale bread out in front of him.

“Eat or you’re not going to get better” Dugan said much more aggressively then Jones. “You gotta drink too Jimmy” he added as Barnes broke off a piece of the bread.  
“Told you,stop calling me Jimmy” Barnes was laughing a bit as he sipped at the water. “Makes it sound like I’m five”.

“I’ll stop calling you Jimmy when you stop acting like a stupid ass kid.” Dugan shot back. They spent the next few days going through this routine. Coaxing the kid to eat and drink and to stay on his feet became a common occurrence. 

“Hang in there Sarge, it’ll pass” Dugan encouraged weakly as Barnes struggled to pull in air on their cell floor. His cough was wet and his breath had a weird rattle to it. Jones was holding Barnes on his side in an attempt to let the kid breathe When the fit finally subsided he curled in on himself. “It’s alright” Dugan muttered, mostly to himself. Barnes was still curled up on the cold floor, wheezing. 

Dugan’s heart dropped when he watched the way the kid’s hand outreached and grasped at nothing. To his own surprise he moved to take it and Barnes clutched it like a lifeline while Gabe mopped the sweat on the kid’s brow. 

“Come on Barnes, gotta drink some water” Gabe whispered. The kid just shook his head, mouthed something they couldn’t understand and curled further in on himself.  
They got through another day and another night, a night of coughing and wheezing but they got through it.  
The next day his arms were shaking as he moved another box of metal. His entire body burned from exhaustion and he knew the others were hurting too but if it got Barnes out of this hellhole it would be worth it. Of course that fucking asshole guard had to mess it all up.

Jackson might’ve been the unluckiest son of a bitch, fresh out of training and not long later doing hard labour in a prison camp. Whether or not he’d messed up or the guards were simply itching for a fight he didn’t know but the next thing he knew the newbie was being used a punching bag. 

“You get the hell away from him” Barnes shouted, pushing his way through a group of guards and prisoners that had gathered. Another one of the guards tried to stop him but once Jimmy had his mind but towards something there was no stopping him. He was already exchanging blows with the guard by the time Dugan pushed his way to the front. The guard was still kicking the living shit out of Jackson but his attention was quickly turning to his Barnes. 

“Get the fuck back here Sarge!” Dum-Dum screamed, trying to shove his way through the ring of guards that had appeared, but Barnes’s stupid ass plan worked. The guard finally turned all his attention towards Barnes, allowing some guys to pull the skinny and bloodied rookie out of the fight. He watched as the crowd parted before almost protectively drawing back in and hiding him from sight. On a good day Dugan would have been willing to bet good money that Barnes would have kicked the guys sorry ass but he was in no condition to fight. The guard landed a punch to his face and he went to his knees, another one and Barnes went crashing to the ground.

The guard dropped down too and continued the beating. Grabbing Barnes by his hair and using it to pound his head to the ground. Once, twice, a sickening sound. Dugan could’ve sworn that he caught his eye for a second but it was hard to tell. Dum-Dum didn’t feel himself finally break through the barrier of guards that were holding him back, he didn’t feel himself tackle the german bastard, didn’t hear the sound of his fellow soldiers cheering him on or joining in the fight. The only thing he heard was the loud bell that ended their shift. He left the guard on the ground and him and Jones ran for there stupid little cage, Barnes unconscious or maybe dead between them.

“Definite concussion, broken ribs, probably some fractured bones or internal injuries too.” Jones whispered. “It doesn’t look good” he admitted solemnly. Dugan bit back a wince as Barnes, laid unceremoniously on the cold metal sucked in another wheezy breathe. Dugan ran one of his hands through the kids hair, it came back bloody.  
“How’s Jackson?” Dugan asked, his voice came out strained.

“He’ll live, be in pain for a few days but he’ll live” Jones answered quietly. Barnes’s face was waxy pale and fever sweat dripped down his face. Tendrils of dark hair clung to his glistening forehead. Blood still trickled from his nose and a wound on the back of his head, more coming from a cut on his cheekbone. A few hours later he struggled into consciousness.

“Stevie” Barnes whimpered. “Stevie, wh-what's going-” his voice was cut short by desperate hacking. 

“Just us” Jones whispered, trying to get Barnes’s bloodshot eyes to focus. 

“Steve”He was crying now, tears running down his burning cheeks. “Steve whats going on? I’m scared. Stevie...” Desperate and confused words punctuated by coughing, said in the haze of fever. “Steve” the boy sobbed, Jones was moving his finger in front of Barnes's eyes, trying to get him to track it. His entire body shook.

“He’s not here kid” Dugan tried but Barnes’s eyes remained wild and scared. 

“Alright sit him up against the bars, that might help his breathing a bit” Gabe suggested and they moved to do so. That’s how they spent the night. The kid leaning against the freezing metal and Dugan’s shoulder.

They sat up with him all night. Every now and then the kid would wake up and cry for his best friend, every time they would tell him that he wasn’t here, Dugan didn’t know if they ever got through to him. His forehead burned with fever and his cough was deep as he shivered despite being wrapped up in three different jackets.

The next morning two guards showed up and dragged the unconscious and fevered sargeant away, Dum-Dums screams fell on deaf ears. Barnes was a good person, and that was what would get him killed. Dugan absolutely hated it.


End file.
